Hugh paris



No. 6ll,l83. Patented Sept. 20, I898. H. PARIS.

MUTE FOR STRINGED INSTRUMENTS.

(Applicltion filed July 31, 1897.)

(N0 Modal.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HUGH PARIS, OF RAT PORTAGE, CANADA.

MUTE FORSTRINGED INSTRUMENTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 611,183, dated September 20, 1898.

Application filed July 31,1897. Serial No. 646,666. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HUGH PARIS, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Rat Portage, in the Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented a new and useful Mute for Stringed Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a mute for stringed instruments, particularly banjos, and has for its object to provide a simple, inexpensive, and eflicicnt device adapted to be applied to the brace-bar of a banjo-head and provided with means whereby it may be thrown into operative position by a performers arm without requiring him to remove his fingers from the strings.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of a banjo provided with a mute attachment constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail view in perspective of the mute attachment, showing the contiguous portion of the banjo-head inverted. Fig. 3 is a detail view showing the connection between the arm of the adjusting-lever and the cushion-carrying arm. Fig. 4 is a detail view showing the mute-arm loop.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

The device embodying my invention consists of a pivotal, preferably bifurcated or divided, arm 1, mounted upon a securing-plate 2, which is adapted to be fastened in any suitable manner, as by screws 3, to a brace-bar 4 of a banjo-head, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, the extremities of the members of the arm being provided with contact pads or cushions 5, adapted to be arranged in contact with the inner surface of the head at points opposite the feet of the bridge 6 to reduce the vibration of the head, and hence the resonance of the instrument, to produce an echo or mute effect. The adjustable or pad-carrying arm is yieldingly held in its normal or retracted position by means of a spring 7, attached to the securing-plate,bearing terminally upon an extension or eye 8 on the looped portion of the arm, contiguous to its fulcrum. The extension or eye 8 is preferably elongated, as indicated, to form a seat in which operates the free end of one arm 9 of an adjusting-lever which is mounted at an intermediate point in a suitable bearing 10 on the rim of the banjohead. The operating-arm 11 of said lever extends forwardly and slightlybeyond the plane of the front surface of the head, where it is in position to be pressed by the forearm of the performer to rock the lever and thereby throw the pad-carrying arm into its operative position (indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2) in opposition to the tension of said retractingspring.

From the above description it will be seen that the device is adapted to be applied to a banjo or similar instrument of any of the ordinary forms, a suitable clamp 12 being employed to provide a bearing 10 for the intermediate portion of the operating-lever and a guide let being arranged for the free end of the operative or forwardly-extending arm of said lever.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is- 1. As a new article of manufacture, the herein-described mute for the purpose named, comprising a base-plate 2, a pad-carrying arm 1 pivotally mounted upon said base-plate and provided with a seat 8, a spring for yieldingly holding the pad-carrying arm in its normal position, and a lever having a spindle portion, and perpendicularly-extending arms, one of which is fitted in said seat, substantially as specified.

2. A mute for the purpose named, having a pivotal pad-carrying arm, mounted upon the brace of a banjo-head, and yieldingly held in one of its adjusted positions, and an operat ing-lever mounted forswinging movement exteriorly of the banjo-head contiguous to the tailpiece, and extending perpendicularly beyond the front surface of the said head for lateral swinging movement by the forearm of the performer, substantially as specified.

3. A mute for the purpose named, having a securing-plate adapted to be fastened to the front surface of the banjo-head, substantially 1o brace of a banjo-head, a pad-carrying arm as specified. pivotally mounted upon said plate and pro- In testimony that I claim the foregoing as vided with an extension formingalooped seat, my own I have hereto affixed my signature in 5 and an operating-lever mounted upon the the presence of two witnesses.

banjo-head and provided with an arm ar- HUGH PARIS. ranged at its extremity in said seat, the other \Vitnesses: arm of the lever extending; perpendicular to THOS. HANSON,

and being terminally disposed beyond the, A. WOODS. 

